Soraya never remarried. She traveled extensively in Europe, aspiring at one point to a movie career.

The story of her divorce inspired a French songwriter, Francoise Mallet-Jorris, to write ''Je Veux Pleurer Comme Soraya'' (''I Want to Cry Like Soraya''). The former empress published an autobiography in 1991, ''Le Palais des Solitudes'' (''The Palace of Solitudes'').